


Come Home

by squiggid



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: Feels, Flynn Is A Worrier, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Minor Violence, Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:48:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24256918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squiggid/pseuds/squiggid
Summary: It occurs to Flynn that he may or may not be purposely drowning in work in order to keep himself from yearning too much over Yuri’s next visit home, but that’s neither here nor there.
Relationships: Yuri Lowell/Flynn Scifo
Comments: 4
Kudos: 69





	Come Home

**Author's Note:**

> This is sort of a sequel to [Catching A Raven](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23973181), but it’s not super important that you read that one first.

The first time Yuri visits is a pleasant surprise.

Flynn’s drowning in paperwork with the turn of this new age of no blastia, and he’s so busy he doesn’t even realize it’s been nearly a month since they chased away the darkness in the sky. Nearly a month since he’d left Yuri and his friends to properly attend to his duties as the new commandant; nearly a month since he’d made Yuri promise to come home more, now that there isn’t an immediate threat of worldwide disaster, and Yuri had reluctantly agreed.

It occurs to Flynn that he may or may not be purposely drowning in work in order to keep himself from yearning too much over Yuri’s next visit home, but that’s neither here nor there.

It’s amidst signing a wave of approvals for some construction site and pushing away that intrusive thought when a little boy skips into his office. 

“Flynn!” Ted yelps, running toward his desk with that endless energy that only children seem to have. “Whatcha up to?”

“Sorry, Ted, now’s not the best time.”

“Aww, it’s never a good time for you.”

“I’ve been busy.”

“Too busy to remember your promise to visit us more often?”

Flynn pauses. His promise. The promise he’d made to Yuri in exchange for the other to come home more often.

It would be hypocritical of him to expect Yuri to honor his request if Flynn didn’t follow through with his end of the deal. Knowing Yuri, he‘d probably never let him live it down, either. He’d probably mention it every time he comes to town—if he ever does, of course.

He has to. He promised.

“All right,” Flynn says finally. “But I can’t stay long.”

Letting out a whoop, Ted circles the room with arms wide like an airplane and then zooms out the door. The child leads the way out of the castle, through the upper quarter, the public quarter, and all the way down the stairs to that familiar fountain. 

Ted runs and runs until he stops in front of one purple-haired young man with a hand on his hip.

Flynn nearly trips when he sees him.

“I did it, Yuri!” Ted exclaims, bouncing on his heels. “I brought him down!”

“Good work, Ted,” Yuri says in that way he talks to children, never looking down on them. “Here: one lemon gel, as promised.”

Ted yells out another whoop and runs off with his candy, leaving the two men alone in the square.

“Yuri,” is all Flynn can say.

“Hey,” Yuri returns with that all-too-familiar smirk.

They’re only a couple feet away from each other, but it feels like miles. Flynn’s fingers twitch as he remembers the feel of Yuri’s soft, long hair, and he has to make a fist to keep himself from reaching out right there in public.

They make their way over to the restaurant inn, and they talk the whole time, sitting next to each other at the bar, shoulder to shoulder, leg to leg, never once letting silence rest between them. There’s a few nudges here and there, a few comments and looks here and there, but nothing more.

It’s not so coy when they head upstairs to that room that the innkeeper always keeps open for Yuri. They tumble onto the bed in a mess of limbs, desperate to feel each other, desperate to touch each other after so long, after what could have been the end of everything.

Afterward, they lie on the bed together—not quite cuddling, but only just so.

“So, you leave tomorrow morning?” Flynn says quietly, somewhat to himself. 

“Yeah.”

“When will I see you again?”

“I can’t say.”

Closing his eyes, Flynn takes in a deep breath to try to quell the anxiety in his chest.

“As long as you’re safe,” he resigns.

“Come on, you know me,” Yuri says playfully, nudging Flynn’s shoulder. “I’m always safe.”

“No, you’re not. You’re actually the epitome of unsafe.”

“All right, all right.” Yuri gives in, rolling his eyes. “I’ll be safe.”

The thought of him not being safe, the thought of him taking a job too big for him and getting too injured in battle, the thought of never seeing Yuri again twists Flynn’s stomach in knots and makes it hard to breathe.

“Hey, no more of that classic Flynn Frown while I’m in town, OK?” Yuri says, shifting his usual smirk into more of a smile. “I’m only here for so long. Don’t make my last memory of you be with a frown.”

Easier said than done, but that’s everything with Yuri. 

Leaning in a bit and placing a finger underneath Flynn’s chin, Yuri gently prods, “Please?”

Slowly, hesitantly, Flynn’s pursed lips fold into a small smile.

“There it is,” Yuri says with a hint of pride. He brushes his thumb across Flynn’s mouth. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it.”

Don’t worry, he says. That’s all Flynn knows how to do with Yuri.

—

The next time Ted bursts into his office, a month later, Flynn’s out of his seat before the kid even says a word.

They practically race down to the lower quarter, and then Flynn shoves a handful of lemon gels into the child’s hands before bounding up the stairs of the inn.

He bursts open the door, causing the man inside to jump.

“Whoa, someone’s excited to—”

Flynn’s mouth is on Yuri’s before he’s able to finish his sentence. Yuri grunts in surprise and then lets himself be pushed onto the bed, lets Flynn tear off his clothes, lets him get as far as touching between his legs before, of course, Yuri takes control, and he’s on top, burying into Flynn and making him blush and whine like a girl.

“Geez,” Yuri groans after he’s finished and then flops onto Flynn’s body underneath him. “Like I was saying—looks like someone’s excited to see me.”

Flynn laughs, trying to catch his breath. “Welcome home.”

“If I get welcomed like that every time, I might actually come home more often.”

“Really?”

Yuri lifts his head to meet Flynn’s hopeful gaze only to say, “Maybe. I am pretty hungry, though.”

“You haven’t eaten yet?”

“No, I was waiting for you, dumbass, and then you jumped me.”

“Sorry,” Flynn mumbles in embarrassment before shifting to separate their sweaty bodies.

They take a moment to clean up, but it’s admittedly a bit hard, because Flynn can’t stop touching his best friend. He can’t stop combing through his long hair, he can’t stop sneaking in kisses, and he can’t stop doing something as simple as holding his hand.

Eventually, with an amused smile, Yuri says, “Come on, Flynn, let’s eat.” 

“Yeah. Yeah, right,” Flynn says, bringing Yuri’s hand to his mouth for a quick kiss. “Let’s go.”

They stay up way too late, past the kitchen closing, past the bar closing, until eventually the restaurant owner pushes them out the door. With everything closed so late at night, they find themselves back at their favorite spot, one they’d found as kids, sitting basically on top of someone’s roof and looking down at the rest of the quarter. It’s fine that everything’s closed and everyone’s gone to sleep, because that means Flynn can hold Yuri’s hand again, sitting on that roof away from the public eye, as he tells story after story about what’s been happening in the capital.

He’s just about to talk about the time Witcher accidentally set fire to Sodia’s hair when he sees Yuri stifle a yawn.

Flynn pauses and then sheepishly says, “I guess you should go to sleep. You have to leave tomorrow morning, anyway.”

He tries to keep the disappointment out of his voice, but he’s sure that Yuri catches it. The man’s too sharp for his own good. Trying his hardest to push away the loneliness that’s starting to creep up in his chest, Flynn squeezes his hand but then belatedly realizes that he’s still holding Yuri’s.

Thankfully, Yuri squeezes his hand back.

“It’s OK,” Yuri says softly. “I can stay up a little longer.”

They return to the room and stay up tangled in each other’s limbs until the birds begin to chirp.

—

The third time Yuri’s in town, Flynn doesn’t know it from Ted: he knows it from the panicked yelling out the window.

It’s been around a month since their last rendezvous, so Flynn’s half expecting Ted to burst through his doors again, but instead he hears the unmistakeable yell of his best friend calling for a medic. Even across town, even after weeks of not seeing him, Flynn can still recognize that voice that’s been by his side since he was a child.

Flynn’s not too far from the inn in the public quarter, closest to the entrance, but the trek feels like forever, navigating through the winding corridors of the castle and then wading through the curious passersby in the street. He barely hears their concerned whispers over the pounding in his chest and the blood rushing through his ears.

When Flynn finally reaches the inn, he sees a flustered nurse changing a bloodied towel next to Rita, a hurried doctor by Estelle’s side, and Yuri, with his back to the door, standing at the foot of Karol’s bed.

“Yuri!” Flynn blurts.

Yuri turns around, revealing a bruised eye, a cut lip, and several bandages wrapped around his chest and arms.

Horror ripples through Flynn at the sight of Yuri’s wounded state. It feels like the breath has been sucked out of him.

“Hey, beautiful,” Yuri says, but there’s no playful smirk on his lips.

Flynn tries hard to remember how to talk.

“You’re hurt,” he finally says.

“Not as bad as the rest of them.” Yuri grits his teeth and drops his gaze. “Dammit.”

“You should rest.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I said I’m—”

“Yuri!” Flynn cries, voice cracking. His voice is thick as he chokes out, “You said you’d be safe.”

He’s seen hundreds of casualties on the battlefield, but seeing the battered condition of the one person he cares about the most is far worse.

The atmosphere in the room shifts from panic to a tense gloom. If the others didn’t know before about the two of them, they did now. A part of Flynn is mad at himself for making such a careless mistake, but a part of him only sees his injured friend and doesn’t care.

Quietly, Yuri leads them out of the room and into the empty room next door.

“You said you’d be safe,” Flynn repeats. It’s pathetic, but he can’t think of anything else to say at the moment.

Yuri’s voice is softer now. “Hey, look, I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Barely,” Flynn shoots back. “You could not be. You could be—you could be—”

“You could be, too,” Yuri snaps back, losing his composure. “You could go on a mission and get hurt, too. I know what it’s like to be a knight.”

“I’m not just a knight anymore,” Flynn reminds. “I’m the commandant. I’m not on the front lines anymore.”

Yuri scoffs. “Shit, I forgot how fucking backwards the knighthood system is.”

“Backwards or not, at least it’s safe,” Flynn retaliates. “At least you don’t have to worry about coming home and me not being there to greet you.”

Yuri’s hard look finally softens, if only a little. “You’re right, I have that privilege.” He reaches out and takes Flynn’s hand. “But you know me, you know I can’t be happy just sitting back while my friends risk their lives.”

“I’m not asking you to sit back; I’m asking you to be safe,” Flynn clarifies, squeezing Yuri’s hand. “The higher I climb, the safer I am. Meanwhile, the longer you’re out there, the more dangerous it is, and the more I have to worry.”

“Don’t worry about me. You know I can take care of myself.”

“Obviously not.”

“There’s going to be fights like this; we can’t help it.”

“Can’t you—can’t you just take the easier jobs? Not the ones that are so dangerous?”

“Come on, we’re  _ Brave Vesperia,_ we have to live up to the name.”

“You’re not listening to me!” Flynn breaks down. He grabs Yuri’s shirt with two fists and grinds out, “I can’t lose you. Don’t you get it?”

Finally, Yuri shuts his mouth. Flynn averts his gaze and continues, voice quiet and quivering. “You don’t know what it’s like. You don’t know what it’s like to sit here and wait and wait, for weeks, not knowing if you’re alive, and not knowing if you’ll come back. And then you do, and it’s just one day, it’s so quick, and the whole time, all I can think about is you leaving again. I miss you the entire time you’re here. I don’t ever stop missing you.”

Tears have prickled his eyes all throughout his confession as he’s finally able to put his thoughts and feelings for months into words.

“Every time you leave, I think, ‘What if? What if it’s the last time I’ll see him?’ But I try my best to believe in you. And then you come back like this, hurt, and—and—”

It’s too much. It’s months of heart-wrenching worry and months of quiet suffering all built up inside him, accumulated far longer than just the months after the defeat of the Adephagos, accumulated ever since Yuri left on his journey with Estelle, ever since he left Flynn’s protection from the capital. It’s months of wondering where his best friend is after living practically his whole life knowing exactly where he is and what he’s up to, even if it’s just his usual mischief.

Yuri reaches out for him as soon as his bottom lip starts to quiver and his vision starts to blur. Flynn’s hands are still gripping the front of Yuri’s shirt; he’s too scared to hug Yuri back in case he accidentally presses against a bruise—just another reminder of the current situation.

“I’m sorry for putting you through this,” Yuri murmurs. “But you know this who I am.”

He knows. He knows. But that doesn’t make it any easier.

It takes more than a day for the crew to heal. By the time Yuri finally manages to convince the doctors to let them leave, it’s sunset of the next day.

The rest of the group—still a bit beat up, but in considerably better shape—waits at the entrance of the capital, giving Yuri some space to say goodbye to his best friend.

“I’ll be back soon, OK?” Yuri says. He’s trying his best to sound as cool and collected as he usually does, but it’s more subdued.

“Mm,” is all Flynn can say.

Yuri pats him once on the elbow and tries to lighten his tone. “Hey, don’t worry so much.”

“Give me a reason not to worry.”

After giving him a thoughtful look, Yuri digs through his pockets.

“Here.” He takes Flynn’s hand and places a key in his palm—which Flynn instantly recognizes as a Zaphias castle prison key. “I keep it sort-of as a good luck charm. I’ll take it back the next time I’m home.”

“But if it’s a good luck charm, then don’t you need it?”

“It’s OK, I’ll take this instead.”

Yuri leans in for a kiss. Closing one hand over the key and grabbing Yuri’s shirt with the other, Flynn kisses him back, not caring who sees, only thinking this may be the last kiss he shares with Yuri.

Finally, Yuri pulls back, with a lighter expression on his face now.

“See ya,” he says simply.

Not trusting himself to speak, Flynn just nods.

“Smile for me?” Yuri tries.

Flynn laughs once, even if it is a bit hollow. Somehow, Yuri can always make him laugh.

“Just go,” Flynn whispers.

“I’ll make you smile next time,” Yuri says, winking, before he turns to leave.

—

Next time doesn’t come for months.

It’s usually been around a month between each of Yuri’s visits, but when a month rolls around, and Yuri doesn’t waltz right into the capital with some lazy, sarcastic comment, Flynn starts to worry. He tries his hardest not to worry, he tries to believe in Yuri’s words and his promise and that key that Flynn never seems to be able to let go of lately, but when another month passes and there’s still no sign of that purple-haired ex-knight, he starts pulling some strings.

Where could Yuri be? The best place to check would be Dahngrest. Flynn sends out some knights under the excuse of just wanting to know what the guilds are up to, just wanting to make sure no one’s doing anything crazy, especially not one particular up-and-coming guild with a dog mascot.

A week passes by, and Flynn tries his hardest to maintain his composure when the knights return from their mission.

“Commandant Flynn,” a knight acknowledges sharply.

“Yes, yes,” Flynn rushes. ”Your report?”

“It seems that following the defeat of the Adephagos, the guilds have become overwhelmed with requests from those who have not quite acclimated to the new era devoid of blastia.”

“Understandable,” Flynn says nodding. Sure, it’s been rough for everyone, and the capital hasn’t been able to provide for all with their current resources. “Did you gather any information on the activity of certain guilds?”

“Fortune’s Market is facing hardships with low inventory on various goods. The Hunting Blades are chasing down high-bounty monsters in Northern Tobyccia.”

“And Brave Vesperia?”

The knight hesitates. “Brave Vesperia... has taken on a dangerous—no, near impossible—mission to retrieve a lost artifact from the Shaikos Ruins. They have yet to return to Dahngrest.”

A cold sweat sweeps through Flynn. A dangerous, near-impossible mission? They’ve yet to return? Flynn tries his hardest to keep his head up and to remind himself, for the hundredth time, that Yuri’s too good of a fighter and too stubborn of a bastard to be in any grave danger. He always makes it out alive, one way or another.

“Th-thank you,” Flynn manages to say. “I look forward to your full report by tomorrow.”

“Sir,” the knight acknowledges before leaving.

Yuri’s fine. He’ll be fine. He’ll be back, maybe with some injuries, and definitely with a scowl, pushing the artifact he excavated into the client’s hand and lecturing them about staying out of trouble. Maybe he’ll need some time to recover, depending on his injuries, but he’ll be back.

But a week passes by, and Yuri still isn’t back. Flynn sends another group of knights to Dahngrest, and they come back with the same report.

Another week passes by, and Flynn again sends a group of knights, all while clinging onto that stupid prison key that Yuri gave him, that Yuri promised he’d come back for.

He promised. He promised, that son of a bitch, he promised.

The knights come back, and Flynn wastes no time.

“Brave Vesperia? Have they returned?”

The knight bristles a bit at the exclamation. “They have, sir. They are gravely injured, but they are being tended to by a doctor.”

A wave of relief that borders nausea courses through Flynn, and he visibly sags in his chair. Yuri’s back. He’s hurt, but at least he’s alive. Once he’s healed up (or maybe not even completely healed up, knowing the restless idiot), he’ll walk through the Zaphias gates, complaining loudly that whatever job wasn’t worth it.

But a few weeks pass, and Yuri doesn’t show up. Doubt and worry start blooming once again in Flynn’s heart, no matter how hard he tries to quell his fears. Confused and frustrated, he sends another group of knights to Dahngrest, only to discover that Brave Vesperia has already left on another mission—equally as dangerous and unlikely to see success as the last one.

Damn it. Why is Yuri doing this? Why is he doing this to Flynn?

Again, weeks pass by without any update on their return. At this point, Flynn’s stationed a group of knights in Dahngrest, or at least in a city close by so as not to cause the guilds too much discomfort from the capital’s dogs keeping a close eye on them. Flynn doesn’t care too much—he only has one mission in mind.

When the message finally comes that Brave Vesperia is back, Flynn packs up and gets on a boat to Dahngrest without a thought. But when he arrives in the city, Brave Vesperia’s already gone again.

Why? Why are they doing this? After seeing the chaos of Dahngrest, Flynn can see first hand that it’s true: the people are overwhelmed, and the guilds are busy. But is that all it is? Is Yuri just busy? No, with someone as practical as Judith on their team, they would know not to take on too many jobs at the expense of their health. But then why?

Is something keeping them from being able to rest? Is something keeping Yuri from being able to come home? Is something keeping him from being able to see Flynn? 

Does Yuri not care anymore to come home?

Does he not care anymore about Flynn?

The thought makes his heart hurt more than anything else.

Months later, after many sleepless nights, Flynn once again lies awake in his quarters far too late at night when he hears a tap on his window. On instinct, he kicks away the covers and tumbles out of bed, ready to fight an intruder—only to see one Yuri Lowell on the other side of the glass, with a sheepish smile and wave.

“Yuri...!” Flynn gasps, unable to believe what he sees. He fumbles with the window locks and then lets in his friend, who, what with his sunken eyes and overgrown hair—even for Yuri—seems to have seen better days.

There are too many questions on the tip of Flynn’s tongue but he asks the most immediate one.

“Why did you come in through the window?”

“What? Oh.” Yuri shrugs. “I didn’t wanna deal with security.”

The casual response and sudden intrusion, after months of worry and confusion, flares up something hot and stupid inside of Flynn, and he throws out a fist before he can think.

“Oof!” Yuri grunts, stumbling back. After taking a second to nurse his jaw, he says, “All right, I probably deserved—”

Flynn doesn’t let him finish. He falls against Yuri’s chest and wraps his arms tight around him.

“I waited... for so long,” he mutters into Yuri’s shoulder.

Slowly, Yuri’s arms reach up to touch him back. “I’m sorry I made you wait.”

“I thought... I thought...”

“Hey, gimme some more credit. I’m not gonna die that easily.”

“No, I didn’t think you died, I thought...”

The thought of Yuri no longer caring about Flynn is far worse than the thought of Yuri dying.

Suddenly feeling very silly, Flynn clears his throat and takes a step back. “Never mind. The important thing is that you’re here now.”

“Yeah, just barely,” Yuri groans, leaning on one leg. “These last couple jobs have been brutal. After we last left here, we took on a big job that all the other guilds were too chicken to take. The money was just too good for us to pass it up, though.”

Flynn sighs. “Yuri, you have to think more about your safety than your money.”

“She looked pretty desperate. Like the light had faded from her eyes.” Yuri grimaces. “I hate that shit.”

It’s true, Yuri does hate it when someone looks helpless and hopeless. That’s when he’s the most supportive, even if it is an aggressive sort of support.

“Anyway, we took the job. Almost died doing it, but at least we completed it.” Yuri lets out a sharp laugh. “We were in such bad shape, and all I could think about was that if I came home in that condition, you’d kill me.”

It’s true, he would have, but at least he’d have been able to see Yuri.

Frowning, Yuri continues, “I meant to come home as soon as I recovered, but word got out that we actually managed to salvage the Lost Treasure of Yormgen, and that’s when all kinds of crazy requests came at us, everyone who’s been rejected by other guilds for being too dangerous or impossible. As soon as we got back from one mission, beat up as hell, someone else would already be waiting for us to take on their job. Karol thought it’d be best to ride the wave and keep our reputation going, and I didn’t want to disappoint the boss man.”

“Yuri... you cant put things like reputation over safety like that.” 

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore,” Yuri says, stretching his arms above his head. “I’m done.”

Flynn pauses. “You’re done?”

“I’m here for good,” Yuri says, beginning to smirk. “Why do you think I took that first job to begin with? With money like that, for just one job, that’d be at least a week of hanging out at the lower quarter with you.”

Slowly, a light starts to flicker in Flynn’s mind. “And with all the jobs you took...”

“I’d say I have a good couple months here. Though I might get bored out of my mind just dicking around town.” Yuri’s smirk is wide now. “Think you can keep me entertained?”

A laugh escapes Flynn’s mouth—first only a handful, but soon he has to hold his stomach from laughing so hard.

“Told you I’d make you smile the next time I’m home,” Yuri says, a little cheekily, as usual.

“You bastard,” Flynn accuses, but he still can’t stop smiling.

Finally, Yuri closes the distance between them, tilts Flynn’s head, and kisses him. It’s a kiss that Flynn wants to continue for hours, and he knows now, with all the time they have, that for once, he can.

“You don’t know how awful it feels to make you cry,” Yuri whispers against Flynn’s mouth. “I never want to make you cry again.”

Flynn reaches into his pocket and places the key in Yuri’s hand.

“Then don’t.”

With a smile, Yuri closes his hand over the key and Flynn’s hand.


End file.
